Wider Bernard Bayou Bridge Partially Opens

As flagmen waved the first cars over the new Bernard Bayou bridge, they noticed one woman with a puzzled look on her face. "She seemed excited," Leonard Gilman said. "But she still wanted her old road back."

The old road with its rusty bridge is now empty. It's been replaced by this wider, modern, partially opened $14 million bridge and roadway. And drivers loved it. One said it's "beautiful. I'm glad it's open. It's fantastic. Couldn't be any better." Another said, "The bridge is pretty nice. I wish they had a little arrow pointing left here. But the bridge is pretty nice." According to flagman Monty Buchanan, the drivers "seemed like they were really happy because the bridge is opened up."

One of the happiest and now loneliest people near the new road may be Richard Jermyn. "You see," Jermyn said, "I don't have any neighbors, I don't have anybody to fuss over the fence with."

The moment the bridge opened and traffic shifted onto the two northbound lanes, Jermyn gained about 30 extra feet of peace and quiet. He said, "It's a good day because the traffic like I said is further away from my house."

The traffic now rolls behind a cemetery, and through an area that used to be home to nine Brentwood families. For people in the subdivision, the new road may take some getting used to. According to project engineer James Clark, "They're used to going across there with no traffic on it. It's a hazard if they don't observe the traffic."

Drivers say even though it's just two lanes right now, the new Bernard Bayou bridge sure beats the old path up Cowan Lorraine Road. "Oh yes I think so," a driver said. "Traffic wise it helps out a lot, without a doubt."

Eventually, the new Cowan Lorraine Road will handle four lanes of traffic. The other two lanes won't open until this fall, after the state finishes work on a new Industrial Seaway drawbridge.

Thousands of Ingalls workers will receive a second bonus check this week. (Photo source: WLOX)

Thousands of Ingalls workers will receive a second bonus check this week (photo credit: WLOX)

Thousands of Ingalls Shipbuilding workers will get a lot of extra money in the paychecks this week. It's the second installment of a contract bonus from a new contract deal the company and unions reached last November.

Thousands of Ingalls Shipbuilding workers will get a lot of extra money in the paychecks this week. It's the second installment of a contract bonus from a new contract deal the company and unions reached last November.

Bryant has said multiple times that he wants Mississippi to be the safest place in America for an unborn child. Source: Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves

The law goes into effect immediately and the only exceptions are if a fetus has health problems making it incompatible with life outside the womb at full term or if the mother's life or "major bodily function" is threatened by the pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape or incest are not exempt from the new law.

The law goes into effect immediately and the only exceptions are if a fetus has health problems making it incompatible with life outside the womb at full term or if the mother's life or "major bodily function" is threatened by the pregnancy. Pregnancies resulting from rape or incest are not exempt from the new law.

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Nikolas Cruz appears in court for a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on Monday, Feb. 19. Authorities said Cruz’s brother was arrested for trespassing at the same school on Monday, March 19. (Source: Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Authorities say the brother of the teen charged with killing 17 people at a Florida school has been arrested for trespassing at the same school.

(Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP). FBI agents work the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, Sunday, March 18, 2018. At least a few people were injured in another explosion in Texas' capital late Sunday, after three package bombs detonat...

Officials reported that an explosion in southwest Austin injured two men in their 20s who were hospitalized with injuries that didn't appear to be life-threatening.

Robert and Irma Talamantez have both practiced Santeria for nearly three decades. They said they aren't cruel and they aren't criminals, they're just believers in a misunderstood religion. (Source: KSAT/CNN)

Robert and Irma Talamantez have both practiced Santeria for nearly three decades. They said they aren't cruel and they aren't criminals, they're just believers in a misunderstood religion.